Amsterdam-based hotelier citizenM has North America in its sites for major expansion that favors modular construction.
Having already opened two modular hotels in New York City, citizenM has two hotels under development in Los Angeles, including a 14-story, 183-ft, 216-key hotel at the intersection of Hollywood and Vine; and an 11-story, 315-room hotel at 4th and Spring Streets in L.A.’s historic Downtown Core.
CitizenM also has revealed plans to open two hotels in Seattle, and single hotels in Boston, Miami, San Francisco, and Washington DC.
See Also: DeSimone Consulting Engineers designs the tallest modular hotel in the United States
In Seattle, construction started in March on the 93,245-sf South Lake Union citizenM hotel, which Mortenson Construction is building with 228 steel-framed modular units that were prefabricated in Poland by Polcom, shipped 9,473 miles via the Panama Canal to the Port of Everett, Wash, and transported by truck to the jobsite.
Steel-framed modules are shipped virtually complete, with beds, TVs, millwork, and bath fixtures installed. Image: Courtesy Mortenson
Polcom has supplied steel modules for numerous citizenM hotels in Europe, but wood framing or mass timber have been the more-common materials for modular projects in the U.S., even as height restrictions in most markets still limit the use of wood. “There is a large difference between wood frame modular construction and high-rise steel construction, which is what we are doing here in Seattle and in Los Angeles,” says Phillip Greany, Associate DBIA, LEED AP BD+C, general manager of Mortenson’s Seattle Operating Group in Kirkland, Wash.
The modules Polcom produces come virtually complete, with beds, wall-mounted TV screens, bathroom fixtures, doors and windows already installed. (The modules are wrapped in plastic and pressured to keep the components in place during transport.)
Modules used to build the hotel in Seattle traveled by boat nearly 9,500 miles from Poland to Seattle, where they were trucked to the job site. Image: Courtesy Mortenson
However, citizenM has brought on Gensler to design several of the hotels it is opening in the U.S., to ensure those buildings meet local Building, MEP, and Energy codes. (South Lake Union will be the first modular hotel in Seattle.) “There is also a major ground floor and basement that are conventionally built,” explains Greany, and will include an expansive lobby, a 24/7 canteenM food and beverage amenity, and four meeting areas.
He estimates that construction will take 13 months to complete, and that the 264-key Seattle hotel will be up and running by June 2019.
Related Stories
| Aug 11, 2010
Jacobs, Holder Construction top BD+C's ranking of the nation's 50 largest industrial building contractors
A ranking of the Top 50 Industrial Contractors based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
AASHE releases annual review of sustainability in higher education
The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) has announced the release of AASHE Digest 2008, which documents the continued rapid growth of campus sustainability in the U.S. and Canada. The 356-page report, available as a free download on the AASHE website, includes over 1,350 stories that appeared in the weekly AASHE Bulletin last year.
| Aug 11, 2010
AECOM, Arup, Gensler most active in commercial building design, according to BD+C's Giants 300 report
A ranking of the Top 100 Commercial Design Firms based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
New book provides energy efficiency guidance for hotels
Recommendations on achieving 30% energy savings over minimum code requirements are contained in the newly published Advanced Energy Design Guide for Highway Lodging. The energy savings guidance for design of new hotels provides a first step toward achieving a net-zero-energy building.
| Aug 11, 2010
Perkins+Will master plans Vedanta University teaching hospital in India
Working together with the Anil Agarwal Foundation, Perkins+Will developed the master plan for the Medical Precinct of a new teaching hospital in a remote section of Puri, Orissa, India. The hospital is part of an ambitious plan to develop this rural area into a global center of education and healthcare that would be on par with Harvard, Stanford, and Oxford.
| Aug 11, 2010
Burt Hill, HOK top BD+C's ranking of the nation's 100 largest university design firms
A ranking of the Top 100 University Design Firms based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
PBK, DLR Group among nation's largest K-12 school design firms, according to BD+C's Giants 300 report
A ranking of the Top 75 K-12 School Design Firms based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
Turner, Structure Tone top BD+C's ranking of the 50 largest office contractors
A ranking of the Top 50 Office Contractors based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
Section Eight Design wins 2009 Open Architecture Challenge for classroom design
Victor, Idaho-based Section Eight Design beat out seven other finalists to win the 2009 Open Architecture Challenge: Classroom, spearheaded by the Open Architecture Network. Section Eight partnered with Teton Valley Community School (TVCS) in Victor to design the classroom of the future. Currently based out of a remodeled house, students at Teton Valley Community School are now one step closer to getting a real classroom.
| Aug 11, 2010
PCL Construction, HITT Contracting among nation's largest commercial building contractors, according to BD+C's Giants 300 report
A ranking of the Top 50 Commercial Contractors based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants